What comes across most strongly during Avatâra Ayuso’s quadruple bill is the
choreographer’s attention to detail. There is not a moment where movement feels
haphazard or time-filling; every step is carefully planned, has a clear dynamic
and contributes to Ayuso’s wider intention for each work. Whilst its meaning
isn’t always clear, choreography is undoubtedly captivating.

Balikbayan, a solo
for former Rambert dancer Estela Merlos, opens the evening. Inspired by the
migration experiences of Filipino women, Merlos commences upside down with a
bright yellow skirt hiding her upper body as she flexes her feet and legs.
Standing up, the dancer’s movements become increasingly frantic as a voiceover
repeats foreign words. With a watery white paste on her hands, Merlos then
grabs sections of skin, smearing the paste until she is covered in a blotchy
mess that reflects her inner feelings of disorientation and alienation. The
lights go down as Merlos stands in a warrior-like wide knee bend, roughly
slapping her thighs as if preparing for battle.

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Tokyo Tokyo, a
dance film starring and directed by Ayuso, breaks the tension created in Balikbayan. Only a few minutes long, it’s filled with
surprises as three dancers in kimonos swing from industrial railings and pass
around a mysterious wooden box. What stands out in particular is the vivid
movement and colour of the dancers against the muted grey background of the
title city.

A duet for Blair Tookey and Julie Ann Minaai, OneSquareMeter, explores the claustrophobia
of living in overcrowded London. In a square pool of light, the dancers start standing
and staring expressionlessly into the audience. Their first movements are
minute vibrations which are gradually transformed into full-bodied swoops and
stretches. As choreography develops, dancers travel between different wells of
light around the stage, visibly relaxing, straightening their hair and
massaging tight joints in the darkness. But each time they return to the linear
confines of a lit square, they become spirited and animalistic again – both
fighting for space and superiority but also seeking comfort and support from each
other.

Provisional Landscapes
(which also gives its name to the bill as a whole) completes the evening. To a
looping eight bar section of music by Antonio Vivaldi, five masked dancers walk
and roll around in varying patterns, repeatedly pausing as if suddenly frozen
in time. Fluid solos, duets and group numbers are stilted by a sudden and
invisible need to stop, with movements becoming increasingly aggravated as the
score remains unrelenting.

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As a first full-length evening of Ayuso’s choreography, Provisional Landscapes is exceptionally
promising. The bill’s overall theme – which centres around travel and the
frustration of human experience, whether staying in the same place or migrating
– is strongly present and draws works together.

At times it’s hard to understand the emotional intention
of Ayuso’s choreography, but there’s no doubt a meaning is present in her
beautifully crafted steps. Ayuso’s work is more well-considered, more dynamic
and more engaging than many contemporary dance creators, and she deserves more
opportunities to shine.